Saturday, June 11, 2011

Cola and Jam Spareribs - FFWD

FFWD this week was Cola and Jam Spareribs. We love ribs with just salt and pepper or a chile-based rub so were pleased to find that Dorie's more "exotic" recipe was a delicious change of pace. The main flavors are Chinese 5-Spice Powder, ginger, apricot jam, lemon, orange, and Coca Cola. Total cooking time was supposed to be two hours, however, at that point, the ribs were not even close to being tender. I turned the oven down to 220º F and baked and basted for another two hours...the ribs were then falling off the bone. We served them with my sister's Mexican Coleslaw. I had never made this before and it turned out to be a really light and fresh side dish - recipe below.

A few days after this meal, I made ribs again...I used Penzey's Galena Street Rub (flake salt, sugar, black pepper, paprika, nutmeg, sage, cayenne, red pepper) and baked the ribs for one hour at 350º F and then at 250º F for about 2 hours, basting with a mixture of Coke and apricot jam a la Dorie. The ribs turned out great!

Mexican Coleslaw

from Pandre

Mix Together:

1 small head cabbage, shredded

1 large red pepper, shredded

3 carrots, shredded

2 stalks celery, shredded

1/4 red or Vidalia onion, minced

1/3 cup chopped cilantro

1/4 jalapeno, minced

Dressing - Mix Together:

Juice from 1 fresh lime

1 T red wine vinegar

1/8 cup sour cream and mayo

1/8 cup mayonnaise

Pasilla or Ancho chile powder

Cumin

Salt and pepper

Add dressing to vegetables. Let sit for a few hours in the refrigerator. Pandre serves this over a bed of shredded light green romaine.

My ribs weren't very tender, and I didn't really like them. Now that I read your post, I'm wondering if I should have cooked them for a few more hours... Maybe I could try them again with your technique. I love the Galena Street rub. So delicious.

About Me

I started this blog to post my participation in the French Fridays with Dorie (FFWD) online cooking group (and to post an occasional recipe :)). Starting October 1, 2010, the FFWD group has been making one recipe each week from Dorie Greenspan's wonderful cookbook, "Around My French Table".